William Howard Wade Sr.

Ninilchik resident William Howard Wade Sr., died Thursday, Feb. 22, 2001, at his home in Ninilchik. He was 75.

A private family service will be held at a later date. His ashes will be spread in the mountains of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Wade was born Aug. 3, 1925, in Frostburg, Md. He attended school until the eleventh grade. He was a supervisor for the Chevrolet Foundry in Tonawanda, N.Y., until he took early retirement in 1978. He moved to Alaska in 1978, and always resided in Ninilchik.

Mr. Wade served in the United States Navy and fought in the Philippines and Guadalcanal. He served on the Healy and the battleship Texas.

"He fought to make America free," the family said.

Mr. Wade enjoyed working with machinery and just spending time with his dog. He enjoyed the wide open spaces of Alaska.

"Our dad was a straight-forward kind of guy. He called the shots as he saw them and wanted his family's respect for who he was. He only wanted to be himself, not anything special," the family said. "He was a dad in the true sense of the word. He will be very much loved and missed. There will never be another like him."